Stark Industries Presents: Iron Man - Movie Review

     The summer movie blockbusters have arrived with an “iron fist”!!! Most comic book fans would tell you that when a comic book movie is announced, their initial thoughts are to hope for the best but expect the worst (yeah, I’m looking at you Ghost Rider).  But the release of “Iron Man” this weekend ACTUALLY lives up to the hype.

     “Iron Man” captures the recent life altering events of the womanizing, flamboyant, and brilliant inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) as he transforms from playboy, into his alter ego: Iron Man.  After being held captive in the deserts of the Middle East by a terrorist cell, Starks, majority owner of Stark Industries, returns to civilization, not only with the physical and mental scars of his captivity, but with a new found sense of self and purpose that leads him to develop the Iron Man suit. The new Stark comes as a welcome surprise to some, such as his long time assistant and developing love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his long time best friend Jim Rhodes (Terrance Howard). But this kinder, gentler Tony doesn’t rub everyone the right way.  Tony has new plans for the company and his peaceful outlook now threatens Stark Industries bottom line, and so we see Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) take on the mantle of antagonist.  A ruthless, money hungry, power driven man that will stop at nothing to undermine Starks at every turn and squelch his new ideas of peace. 

     When Jon Favreau intially chose Downey to play Stark, I will admit that I had doubts.  Well let me publically apologize for doubting you, Mr. Favreau.  If there was ever a roll created for an actor, this is it for Downey.  His depiction of a tout, elitist, wise ass is dead on, and with side talk that Favreau chose Downey for the part because of his off screen drug and alcohol issues, I can see how that experince can add to Stark’s on screen issues in the upcoming sequels.  The dialoge in the movie was solid and had many enjoyable parts, especially with Downey and Paltrow, as they sling one witty come back after another at each other.  In Addition, with solid contributing rolls by Howard and Bridges, several intense actions scenes and several hints towards the next direction that Marvel Studios is headed would make any nerd “geek” his pants.  This is by far one of the best starts to the summer movie explosions and one of the best comic movies I’ve seen in years.  In fact, when comparing it to another big daddy Marvel Studios release Spider Man, I would have to say that they are on par with each other.

      Critics prior to the movie’s release were skeptical of how well it would do given other off industry releases (GTA: 4) and recent cinema abortions Marvel has released (Ghost Rider and Fantastic 4).  However, if the upcoming Hulk movie (slated for June) is anything like this, let me just hand over my $10 for admission now!!  Summer Block Busters, we have crowned a new King.  Thy name is Stark, thy name is Iron Man.

GTA IV is out…and the desensitization to violence debate rages.

There is nothing wrong with desensitization. By being desensitized, it enables us as a species to examine events and look at exactly what happened, as opposed to focusing on the fact that it was gruesome and horrible.

Unfortunately, this ability has been overshadowed by MSM in their attempt to drum up scary stuff, and as such the advantage has been lost.

My desensitization to violence is what enabled me to care for a fellow mechanic when they lost two fingers to a metal radiator fan. Everyone else couldn’t look, couldn’t even get near him. I was able to clean and wrap his hand (as well as the severed fingers) because I was so desensitized to violence and gore. I wrapped up his fingers in non-stick gauze and put them in the shop’s freezer, as well as wrapping his hand so as to prevent as much blood loss as possible before the paramedics arrived. Had I NOT done this, his two fingers would likely have not been able to be reattached.

And the ONLY reason I was able to stomach doing it is because I have watched overly gory movies and played gory video games for a very large portion of my life. My desensitization to violence and gore enabled me to view what happened objectively, and react appropriately (as opposed to my coworkers who just kept stammering over and over that his fingers were on the floor and stumpy bones were sticking out where his fingers used to be attached.)

Desensitization to violence is NOT a bad thing. The bad thing is that this desensitization is EXPLOITED, rather than utilized.

A guitar named Freddy

I’ve been wanting to learn how to play guitar ever since I was about 8 years old.  My brother has played guitar for 15-20 years, and has some absolutely amazing guitars.  For whatever reason, I never picked the instrument up.

All that has changed.

Last Saturday, I got a Washburn Lyon 6 string electric (built like a friggin’ tank…) and a Line 6 Spider III 15 amp…a pretty decent combo for a beginner.  I.  AM.  LOVING IT.  In the short few days since I started, I’m picking it up quite fast.  After the first day, I had two of the three major chords down, could play the standard scale, and as of this morning I am able to play 7 different songs (4 of which are classic video game themes)

I think once I actually start getting good at it (it’s only been a few days since I played my first note, after all) I’m going to try to do what hundreds if not thousands of others have done: make my own interpretations of video game music.  Music runs in my family’s blood, everyone either does or has played at least one instrument.  I myself played Clarinet for about 6-7 years, and spent a little bit of time with a French Horn. 

It’s a bit frustrating, because I have to go so slowly and I keep having trouble curling my fingers just right so I’m not touching any strings I’m not supposed to…plus I get this buzzing sound from the strings when I don’t pick them properly (which is frequent.)  Still, I’m just starting out, so while it is frustrating I’m not going to let it discourage me.  I one day aspire to be good enough to write my own simple stuff.  I’m not interested in playing in a band, or pursuing a music career, or being the best guitarist in the world…

I would just like to be able to play it.  Every day that passes now brings me one step closer to that dream:-)

Oblivion, Yoshi’s Island, and Ratatouille

Started playing through Oblivion again a week or so ago…decided to go with a caster/melee hybrid.  My Dumner is already fairly powerful…eqiupped with a staff that has 48 uses of soul trap, along with a custom-made touch spell (35 fire damage, 35 electric damage, 10 cold damage)…when I feel like getting my hands dirty, I pull out my Dwarven Mace enchanted with +40 electrical damage.  Heh, when I hit a mob with it, it sends them FLYING in the air.  Killing mobs and capturing their souls is a bit too easy now, lol.  I had to put the difficulty up to about 3/4ths of the way, otherwise I was just POUNDING enemies with hardly any effort.

In other news, my buddy Mike had gotten me an actual Yoshi’s Island cartridge for the SNES for my birthday last week.  Ended up beating it yesterday…Bowser in that game is crazy.  Aiming the eggs was really weird…gonna start going back through it so I can get 100 on each level.  I will most certainly be needing Brittnie’s help on that one, she seems to be skilled at collecting everything in a level.

Speaking of Brittnie, I also recently picked up a copy of the Wii edition of Ratatouille for her.  The reviews I had read said that it was a bit easy, not very long, and a ton of fun.  Sounds like the perfect game for her.  She hasn’t been putting the same amount of time into it as she had with Cooking Mama, but it’s been holding her interest.  If nothing else, it gives her some more experience with 3D platformers, opening up the possiblity of her playing a myriad of other stuff.  I see God of War, Conan, and possibly even Ninja Gaiden in her future.  She doesn’t mind the violent stuff at all.  She actually played God of War a couple days ago at a friend’s house for a bit, and rather enjoyed it.  That made me SO happy when I found out she liked it, especially since it’s one of my favourite games of all time 8D

The scrolling shooter genre…what happend?

On Digg today, there was an article talking about how Ikaruga (one of the greatest manic shooters ever) is now available on Xbox Live Arcade.  This got me thinking about how much I miss scrolling shooters…there really haven’t been any new ones out in a while.

 I remember back in the day playing Axelay, Galaga, Tempest, The Gradius Series (Gradius III was the best), the R-Type series (Super R-Type III was the best), Raiden Trad…

Why are games like this not around anymore?  The only big ones released recently that I can think of are Geometry Wars,  Mushihime-sama (most insane manic shooter EVER), and Ikaruga.  Hmm….I haven’t written an article on this site in a while.  I think my next one will be about scrolling shooters you have to play.

My life for the Horde

My buddy Mike came over for my birthday this past Friday, and came up with a suggestion completely out of nowhere: “Hey.  Lets play Warcraft III!”  First off, back when Warcraft III came out, Mike and our friend Nik completely pwned the ladders.  I don’t know about Nik’s gaming history, but I knew that Mike had played a LOT of RTS back in the day.  Because of this, it would make sense that he was itching to load it up again.

The other thing you need to consider is that I absolutely LOVE RTS games.  I have a very strategic mind, and can usually outsmart my opponent quite easily…however, I lack the micro ability to actually be effective at playing an RTS.  Still, I thought what the hell, we’ll load it up.

Boy how times have changed.  We’ve only played a few games, and I’ve only put a few hours into it on my own, but my micro has definitely increased over the years.  Maybe it got a short boost from playing Ninja Gaiden Black recently, maybe I’ve just gotten better…but for some reason, I’m able to dart around on the screen much quicker, and I’m getting a fairly solid build order ironed out for Orcs and the Nelfs. 

I had forgotten how much I enjoy RTS, and I’m able to enjoy it even more now that I have some decent control abilities.  I think if my control abilities were able to catch up with my strategic abilities, combined with Mike’s abilities…we could be a force to be reckoned with on Battle.net. 

Even after years, Warcraft III still has decent graphics, good mechanics, and easy controls.  Damn I love Blizzard.

Wonderful! Betta zen Mama…

For the past couple of weeks, Brittnie has been binging on Cooking Mama on the Wii.  While it’s not really my style of game, I’m still very happy that she has a modern video game that she can really sink her teeth into.  She has taken it slightly beyond just gaming, and is attempting to get gold medals on every recipe.  The last (and to my knowledge, first) 7th-gen game she approached with this kind of fervor with was Viva Pinata.

I tend to get very immersed in any game I’m playing…I do my absolute best to achieve as much as possible, to see as much as possible, and to get as good at possible at any game that I spend time with.  I’m glad to see that she has chosen one that doesn’t just require trial and error, but consistency as well.  I’m REALLY looking forward to Okami coming out for the Wii, I know she is gonna go apeshit over it.

The moral of this post is this: you may not always personally enjoy the video games that your partner really gets into, but so what.  Just be glad that they have found a game that they want to devote some time to.  Seeing Brittnie put so much effort into something like Cooking Mama has me thinking of other things she could equally get into…Oblivion, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Fable 2 (supposedly gonna have some INSANE co-op), and some other modern games. 

Hell, despite my complete lack of rythmic ability, I might even pick up Rock Band one of these days…

Pleasant surprises

Last night, I was awoken around 3AM.  My eyes slowly opened, and I had the standard “gzawahhuh?” kind of feeling you get when woken up.

Peering down on me was Brittnie’s beautiful smile.   She gently put her hand on my cheek and whispered “Hi Angel.  We’re back.”  I was barely able to keep conscious because I was so tired, but I haven’t been that happy in a very long time.  I’m not sure when she finally came to bed, but I do know that I wrapped my arms around her tight. 

You know that saying “you don’t know how much you miss something until it’s gone”?  I have a better one. 

“You don’t know how much you miss something until it returns.”

Doomsday, and another evening of randomness

Our friend Rob sent me a text today, asking if I wanted to see a movie.  Seeing as how Brittnie is away until tomorrow, I figured I should go see something that I know she likely would not want to see.  We ended up going to see Doomsday.  He came by shortly after 7 PM, played a few rounds of Wii Bowling, then headed off.  I’ll write up my review of it tomorrow, but definitely make some time to see it; awesome, awesome movie.

I was glad Rob hit me up.  I wasn’t really looking forward to another lonely night.  Definitely good to hang out with someone, and the Kuney is quite the character.  Overall, an entertaining evening.   He left about ten minutes or so ago.  I’m likely just going to fold the laundry while watching Black Adder III, then will prolly put on Eastern Promises.  So good.

It’s strange.  I turn 24 next week.  I find myself feeling a little bit like an adult, acting a bit like an adult, seeing the world like an adult…and yet, ensuring that I maintain a feeling of childhood.  When I sit down to play a video game, be it by myself or with others, I feel like I’m ten years old all over again.  I think that’s one of the reasons why I like gaming so much; it allows me to harmlessly still feel like a kid while avoiding the denial and bad thoughts that go with being an adult who feels like a child.  These are strange times for me…my thoughts are a bit cloudy.  I find the days slipping away much faster than they used to, and I sometimes catch myself talking about things only adults talk about.  At almost 24, I know that technically I’m an adult…but it feels kind of good to be getting older.  Much as I enjoyed my teenage years (despite some crazy stuff that went down), I’m kind of looking forward to getting older.  I aspire to be the wise older guy that can still identify with younger folks, primarily because I still feel like one.  Not changing my interests, sticking to the things that I have always been interested my whole life.  It enables me to not lose my identity, to retain who I have always been.

Interesting.  I just described Rob.

The complete SNES Playlist

In continuing with documenting every game I have ever played, I just completed my SNES list.  They are in alphabetical order because I used Wikipedia’s list of SNES games to go by.  I couldn’t remember them all off the top of my head, but seeing a massive alphebetized list, I could remember if I had played it or not.  About 2/3 of these were played on actual SNES hardware with the real cartridge.  I only own about 25 or so SNES games, so most of these were rented or borrowed from friends.  The Olney Video Store got plenty of money out of me from game rentals, that’s for damn sure.  Next to some of the games, I have little comments as well.  Also, I can’t remember if I beat these or not, though I’m quite sure I beat more of them than the NES games.  My SNES is still hooked up and fully functional.  Unfortunately I had to put down my SN ProPad that I used for years just a short few months ago, as the left trigger and the X button don’t work properly.  Both of my original SNES controllers are still fully functional, tight, and clean however.

And now, it is with great pleasure, that I present to you the list of all 118 SNES games that I have ever played:

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AAAHH!!! Real Monsters
ActRaiser
ActRaiser 2
The Addams Family
Aero the Acro-Bat
Al Unser Jr.’s Road to the Top
Alladin (One of the best platformers ever)
Alien3
Animaniacs (Also an amazing platformer)
Arcana (AMAZING card-based dungeon crawler)
Axelay (Mode 7 graphics at their best)
Bass Masters Classic
Batman Forever
Battletoads & Double Dragon (I actually preferred the look of the NES version)
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (HELL YEA)
Beavis and Butt-Head (The night we rented this, my bro and I ate 5 Cadburry Creameggs each)
Blackthorne
Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure (Hard as hell, but super fun)
Breath of Fire (SUPER classic RPG)
Breath of Fire II
Brett Hull Hockey ‘95 (One of my fave hockey games)
Bubsy in: CLaws Encounters of the Furred Kind
Bugs Bunny in Rabbit Rampage
Castlevania: Dracula X (Fantastic)
Chuck Rock
ClayFighter (Revolutionary game for graphics and art direction)
Contra III: The Alien Wars (Damn near impossible)
Cybernator (Metal Warriors was vastly superior)
Darius Twin
Demon’s Crest
Dirt Trax FX (Rented this one more than 10 times…shoulda just bought it)
Donky Kong Country (I STILL HAVE THE NINTENDO POWER LIMITED BEHIND THE SCENES VHS TAPE!)
Donky Kon Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
Doom (Horrible port)
E.V.O.: Search for Eden (One of my favourites, slightly unknown)
EarthBound (One of the funniest RPG’s ever…Come on Nintendo, bring Mother 3 to the USA!)
Earthworm Jim (Best animations on the SNES)
Earthworm Jim 2
Equinox
F-Zero (Who HASN’T played this one?)
Faceball 2000
Family Dog (Slightly unknown and definitely underappreciated)
Final Fantasy IV (AKA Final Fantasy II in the US)
Final Fantasy VI (AKA Final Fantasy III in the US.  Best Final Fantasy game ever.  Epic.)
Final Fight 1-3
Goof Troop
Gradius III (Awesome)
Harvest Moon
Illusion of Gaia (One of the few games that has ever brought me to tears)
Judge Dredd (Another fantastic platformer…this seemed to be the SNES’s strength)
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (MANY hours spent with my brother on this one)
Killer Instinct (Nothing needs to be said about this one.)
King of Dragons (Hell yeah!)
King of the Monsters
Kirby Super Star
Kirby’s Dream Land 3
Knights of the Round (Awesome)
Legend of the Mystical Ninja
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Hands-down best Zelda game ever released.)
Lemmings
Lethal Enforcers (A waste of time…arcade version WAY better thanks to the lightgun)
The Lion King (Very similar to Alladin, great platformer)
The Lost Vikings (Blizzard is made of win)
Madden NFL ‘95
The Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse (Groundbreaking graphics for the SNES)
Mario Paint (MANY hours spent with this one and my friend Brandon)
MechWarrior (Fairly decent port, all things considered)
Mega Man X (HELL YEAH)
Metal Warriors (One of my all-time fave…WAY better than Cybernator)
NBA Jam (MANY hours spent with my brother on this one too.  Unlimited Turbo ftw)
NFL Quaterback Club (I rocked the contests)
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (Proof that Strategy games could be done on a console)
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures (Very weird game)
Pilotwings
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (SUPER hard)
Pit-Fighter (Inferior to the arcade game, naturally.)
Primal Rage (Lotta time spent with my brother and two sisters on this one)
Raiden (AKA Raiden Trad.  Awesome frantic shooter)
Revolution X (Worthless.  Arcade version was vastly superior)
Rock N’ Roll Racing
Rocko’s Modern Life: Spunky’s Dangerous Day
Secret of Evermore (One of the best games of all time)
Secret of Mana (AKA Seiken Densetsu 2.  GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME, HANDS DOWN)
Shadowrun (Excellent port of the analogue RPG)
Super Smash TV
Sonic Blast Man
Sparkster
Spawn
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (HARD AS HELL!  Red Cartridge ftw)
Star Fox (Mastered this one in its entirety)
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter II Turbo (HUGE number of hours with my brother)
Stunt Race FX (Fantastic)
Super Castlevania IV
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario RPG (Who knew the Mario universe would make such a good RPG?)
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (didn’t play much of this one, but it was awesome)
Super Metroid (Best sidescrolling Metroid, hands down.)
Super Off Road (More fun in the arcade, but an excellent port nontheless)
Super Off Road: The Baja (My fave racing game for years)
Super Punch Out!!
Super R-Type
Super Star Wars
Taz-Mania
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Best TMNT beat-em-up ever)
The Tick
Tin Star
Top Gear
True Lies (One of the better top-down games ever)
Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone (For years, my favourite flight sim)
Uniracers
Weaponlord
Wolfenstein 3D (semi-ok port…heavily censored, however)
Wolvorine: Adamantium Rage (Hard as crap)
Yoshi’s Cookie
Young Merlin
Zombies Ate my Neighbors (Some of the best co-op of all time)